JULV I I, 1895] 



NATURE 



'■:>/ 



and no attempt to use the old units or to return to the old system 

 was made. 



In the United States, where a system founded on the Knglisli 

 units exists, a Commission is at present engaged in an invcstiga- 

 liun of the same character as that with which the Committee was 

 charged, and the Federal C.overnment has this year passed an 

 Act rendering the metrical system compulsory fnr pharmaceutical 

 purposes. 



The Committee believes that the adoption of the metrical 

 system by l-;ngland would greatly tend to render that system 

 universal. 



U is recommended ; — 



(a) That the metrical .system of weights and measures be at 

 once legalised for all purposes. 



(1*) That after a lapse of two years the metrical .system be 

 rendered compidsory liy .Act of Parliament. 



(1) That the metrical system of weights and measures be 

 taught in all public elementary schools as a necessary and integral 

 part of arithmetic, and Ihal decimals Kte introduced at an earlier 

 period of the schot)l ciu'riculuni than i> the case at present. 



SCIENCE IN THE MAGAZINES. 



'T'HIS month's Coiitfiii fiorary Rc-neii' is remarkably rich in 

 articles of .scientific interest. Mr. Herbert Spencer's third 

 paper on professional institutions deals with the " Dancer and 

 Musician." So far back as 1857, Mr. Spencer .showed that, ex- 

 cluding movements which are reflex and involuntary, muscular 

 movements in general are originated by feelings in general. 

 *' As a consequence of this psycho-physical law, the violent 

 nniscular motions of the limbs which cause bounds and gesticu- 

 jatii^ns, as well as thc^se strong contractions of the pectoral and 

 vocal muscles which produce shouting and laughter, become the 

 natural language of great pleasure.' Krom the ways in which 

 children manifest their joy were evolved the expressions of 

 elated feeling with which peoples meet their conquering chief 

 or king, and eventually the natural displays of joy came " to be 

 observances used on all ]>ublic occasions as demonstrations of 

 allegiance, while, simultaneously, the irregular jumpings and 

 gesticulations with unrhythmical shouts and cries, at first arising 

 without concert, gradually by repetition became regularised into 

 the measured movemtnts we know as dances, and into the 

 organised utterances constituting songs. Once more, it is easy to 

 see that out of the groups of subjects thus led into irregular 

 ovations, and by-and-by Into regular laudatory receptions, there 

 will eventually arise some who, distinguisheil Ijy their skill, are 

 set apart as dancers and singers, and presently acquire tlie pro- 

 sessional character." In support of this interpretation evidence 

 obtained from many nations Is adduced, and the separation and 

 secularisation of the twin professions of dancing and music are 

 traced. Mr. (). I''. Scott-Klliot writes in the saine review on 

 ** The Best Route to I'ganda." He is In favour of a route fol- 

 io wing the line of the .African lakes. The route enters the 

 Zambesi at Chinde, and continties up the Zambesi and Lower 

 Shire as far as Chlromo, from whence a railway of approxi- 

 mately 120 miles would be re<iulred across the .Shire Highlands 

 to .Matope, from which point the L'pper Shire is navigable, and 

 goods can be carried to the north end of Lake Nyassa. Here 

 another railway would be required from Karonga to South 

 Tanganika (240 miles). Krom the north end of Tanganika a 

 line woulil run to Kagera. The Kagera river rises on the 

 easterly flanks of the mountains to the east of Tanganika, 

 an<l eventually falls into the X'ictoria Nyanza. A cataract 

 is said to exist on the river, but even if this is so, and a 

 length of line is required to avoid it, the cost of the whole 

 line would only be about ^1,700,000, or one-half that 

 necessary for the Mombasa railway. Other considerations point 

 clearly to the Lake route as the better of the two suggested 

 lines. Prof. Lombroso contributes a paper on " .Atavism and 

 Evolution." 1 le gives a number of instances of what he regards 

 as alavi.stic phenomena in social life. " Kngland," he says, 

 "has succecde<l in estalilishing a form of monarchy the most 

 liberal in Europe ; and Is working out without di.sturbance the 

 alms of Socialism. But, at the siime time, she not only main- 

 tains the privileges of her Peers, but actually dres.ses them up, as 

 well as her judges. In the wigs aiul robes of the Normans : and 

 still uses, on ceremonial occasions, the language of her ancient 

 conquerors. . . . Then this \ery jiositixe and ]iractlcal nation 

 insists on retaining a system of weights, measures, and coins, 

 which Is opposed to that of all modern Europe, and is an obstacle 

 NO, I 34 I, VOL. 52] 



both to commercial exchange and to scientific research." He 

 clas.sifies recent inventions which arc shown to be old as evidence 

 of atasisiu. and e\i>lalns the duplication by the dislike with 

 which, according to him. human nature regards novelties. Too 

 rap/id advance in the arts provokes reaction and causes the tide 

 of progress to ebb when It should be flowing. \ sensible article 

 on the " Physiolog}' of Recreation" is contrilnited by Mr. Charles 

 Roberts, in the course of which he gives the following dassifica- 

 tif)n of [ihysical recreations according to their physiological 

 value. Outdoor: running, athletics, games, skating, skipping, 

 »N:c. ; riding, rowing, swinmiing, walking, cycling, marching. 

 Indoor : fencing and other military exercises with arms, boxing 

 and wrestling, dancing, billiards, duml)-bells, machine gym- 

 nastics, trapeze and high gymnastics, singing and reading aloud, 

 playing musical instruments. Recreations of a leisurely sort, 

 ])hysiologically considered, are: — Outdoor: natural history, 

 gardening and farming, carpentry and other technical work. 

 Indoor : reading ; chess, dr.aughls, and cards ; music. Another 

 paper In the Conliinporaiy, entitled "The Origin of Man and 

 the Religious Sentiment, " by A. Fogazzaro, invites criticism from 

 the standpoint of evolution. 



Prof. Case, Professor of Moral and Metaphj'sical Philosophy in 

 Oxford L'niverslty, champions the cause ".Against Oxford Degrees 

 for Women, " in the Fortnightly. He holds that the admission 

 of women to University examinations has brought out the diffi- 

 culties of teaching mixed classes, and that a mixed University is 

 not desirable, especially at Oxford. Let women have facilities 

 for higher education, by all means, thinks Prof. Case, but let 

 these opportunities lieaftorded by a University especially founded 

 for women. Mr. Grant Allen writes on "The Mystery of 

 Birth,'' in the same review, the object of his article being to 

 raise the question, " Is there any real and essential difference 

 betwceir the transniission of functionally-acquired modifications 

 to oft'spring. and their registration or persistence in the in- 

 dividual organism?" Disciples of Weismann, and biologists 

 generally, will lie interested to know that Mr. Allen proposes 

 " to throw back upon assimilation, in its \videst sense, the 

 burden of the mystery hitherto attached to the reproductive 

 function.'' 



The Kelii/iiarj' and Illustrated A re /urologist has among its 

 articles one by .Mr. H. \V. Young, on the discovery of an ancient 

 burial-place and a symbol-bearing slab at Ea.sterton of Ro.seisle. 

 .A large number of flint instruments, such as arrow-heads, 

 axes, scrapers, iS:c. , found associated with the remains, make 

 the discovery interesting and important, especially in relation to 

 the geology of the " Laich of Moray." 



Natural science predominates in Seienee Progress this month. 

 The pathological results of the Royal Commission on Tuber- 

 culosis are discussed by Dr. Sidney .Martin, and Mr. .Vrthur 

 Keith uses Dr. Dubois" Pithecanthropus Kreetus as a text for a 

 hel]>ful review of human fossil remains. The geology of the 

 Sahara forms the subject of a paper by Mr. Philip Lake. .As in 

 July 1894, Mr. Chree shows, in an extremely valuable table, the 

 recent values of the magnetic elements at the principal mag- 

 netic observatories of the world. In an article entitled " .-V 

 Type of I'akeozoic Plants," Mr. .\. C. Seward directs attention 

 to the histfjlogical structure and affinities of the genus Crt/aw/Vt'y, 

 and finally Dr. \V. 1). Halliburton describes the formation of 

 lyinjih. 



Among the articles in Knozvledge, we notice " The .Sugar 

 Cane," by Mr. C. .A. Barber; "Scorpions and their An- 

 tiquity," by Mr. I.ydekker, illustrated by two fine pictures of the 

 giant .sand-scor|iion of Namaqualand, reproduced from photo- 

 graphs, and " "The (ireat Nubecula," \>y Mr. E. \V. Maunder. 

 "There are also articles on the fielil of diameter of the field of 

 view of a telescope. Dr. Roberts' photographs of star-clusters and 

 ncbnke, the cause of earthcpiakes, and on Prof Eraser's experi- 

 ments to find a cure for snake-bites. 



Hlachvood s Magazine contains a paper in wnich Ciilonel 

 Knollys dwells upon pulilic .school and .\rmy competitive 

 examinations. He holds that the Imperfections of the training at 

 our public schools, and the character of some of the examina- 

 tion (ia]iers, are responsible for the crannning now so common 

 with candidates for the .Army. Two other articles, in which our 

 readers may be interested, are " .Mountaineering Memories," by 

 Mr. H. Preston Thom.as, and "The Terrhorial Waters and Sea 

 Fisheries." 



A passing notice must suffice for the remaining articles of 

 .scientific interest In the magazines and reviews received by us. 

 The Century has an article on " Picturing the Planets, by 

 Prof. I. I!. Keeler ; the article is illustrated by views of Jupiter, 



